USCIS : Top 10 Reasons Why RFE was Issued In The FY 2018

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The Cap season is here! Are you busy filing H-1B
petitions? Be careful! A small mistake in filing
the petition may lead to an RFE. Here are the
top 10 reasons as per the USCIS for issuing an
RFE in the FY 2018. These will guide you in
filing the petitions and help you in avoiding
getting an RFE.
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Firstly, what is an RFE? As an employer, you
have to file an H-1B petition for a non-immigrant
employee. If in case you havent submitted all
the required information while filing the
petition, USCIS may deny your petition. Else, it
may rather issue you a Request For Evidence(RFE)/
Notice Of Intent to Deny (NOID) requesting you
the evidence. A deadline will be specified in the
RFE, which will not be more than twelve weeks.
You should submit all the evidence requested by
the USCIS within this specified time. However,
a petitioner should remember that an RFE doesnt
mean denial. Consider this as a final
opportunity to get your petition approved.
These are the top 10 reasons why RFEs were issued
in the FY 2018 1. Specialty Occupation The
foremost important criteria for filing an H-1B is
that the job specified in the petition should be
a specialty occupation. USCIS may issue an RFE if
the employer failed to establish that the
mentioned job requirement is a specialty
occupation. It should be as defined in section
214(i)(1) of the Act and 8 CFR 214.2 (h)(4)(ii)
and/or that it meets at least one of the four
criteria in 8 CFR 214.2(h)(4)(iii).

• According to 8 CFR 214.2(h)(4)(ii)
• Specialty occupation means an occupation which
  requires theoretical and practical application of
  a body of highly specialized knowledge in fields
  of human endeavor including, but not limited to,
  architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical
  sciences, social sciences, medicine and health,
  education, business specialties, accounting, law,
  theology, and the arts, and which requires the
  attainment of a bachelor's degree or higher in a
  specific specialty, or its equivalent, as a
  minimum for entry into th e occupation in the
  United States.
• According to 8 CFR 214.2(h)(4)(iii)
• Criteria for H-1B petitions involving a specialty
  occupation
• Standards for specialty occupation position. To
  qualify as a specialty occupation, the position
  must meet one of the followin g criteria
• A baccalaureate or higher degree or its
  equivalent is normally the minimum requirement
  for entry into the particular position
• The degree requirement is common to the industry
  in parallel positions among similar organizations
  or, in the alternative, an employer may show that
  its particular position is so complex or unique
  that it can be performed only by an individual
  with a degree

2. Employer-Employee Relationship Establishing
the Employer-Employee relationship is most
important to understand the direct supervision
of an employer on the H-1B employee. It should
state that the employer may hire, pay, fire,
supervise, or otherwise control the work of the
employee. It
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• should also state "how the employer will manage
  the supervision if the employee is working in
  the same/client location?". So, it is the
  responsibility of the petitioner to submit the
  right to control documents to provide evidence of
  supervision. This is to establish that the
  employer has the right to control over the
  corresponding beneficiarys work. Failing to
  establish this Employer-Employee relationship may
  result in an RFE
• Availability of work (Off-site)
• The petitioner hasnt mentioned about the work
  available for the employee in the specified
  specialty occupation. This doesnt establish any
  qualifying assignments to be performed by the
  beneficiary for the time requested in the
  petition. This creates uncertainty in the
  beneficiarys work, which may result in an RFE.
• Beneficiary qualifications
• It is important to Specify the qualifications of
  the beneficiary and establish that the
  beneficiary is eligible for the job as per 8 CFR
  214.2(h)(4)(iii)(C). Having a Bachelors degree
  or higher or an equivalent is the minimum
  qualifying criteria for a specialty occupation.
  If the petitioner failed to do so, an RFE can be
  issued requesting the beneficiary qualification
  details.
• Maintenance of status
• An employer filing the petition for a status
  change should provide all the documents related
  to the current status. This is to provide
  evidence that the beneficiary has maintained
  their current status properly. Failure in doing
  so may result in an RFE. This category is
  reflective of many different reasons that status
  may not have been maintained.
• Availability of Work (In-house)
• The petitioner hasnt mentioned about the work
  available for the employee in the specified
  specialty occupation. So, there aren't any
  qualifying assignments for the beneficiary for
  the entire time.
• LCA Corresponds to Petition

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• The petitioner has filed for an H-1B extension,
  but failed to show that the beneficiary was
  eligible for AC21 benefits. In this case, the
  petitioner failed to prove the eligibility of
  the employee, hence being the reason for
  receiving an RFE.
• Itinerary
• If the beneficiary has to perform services in
  multiple locations, then the petitioner must
  submit an itinerary along with the petition. This
  itinerary should include all the dates and
  locations where the corresponding employee will.
  If t have to work. USCIS may issue an RFE if the
  petitioner failed to meet these itinerary
  requirements according to 8 CFR
  214.2(h)(2)(i)(B).
• Fees
• The petitioner hasnt provided the required
  evidence to state that they paid all the
  required H-1B filing fees. Lack of this evidence
  may result in an RFE.
• So, this is how USCIS evaluates your H-1B
  petition before issuing an RFE. Hope the reasons
  will help you in filing your petitions more
  carefully with all the needed documentation,
  particularly in case of Specialty Occupation,
  which is a notorious issue for the organizations.
• Have your organization received an RFE? Let us
  know what reason had made you receive one.